1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and more specifically to a connector contact comprising two opposing beams with a gap therebetween. The invention also relates to a process for fabricating such contacts.
2. Description of Related Art
Conductive contacts comprising two opposing beams with a gap therebetween are widely used in connectors for connecting a flexible printed circuit or cable (FPC), a flexible flat cable (FFC) and so forth. All of these cables and circuits will be generally referred to as “FPC” hereafter for convenience. Due to the trend toward small dimensional electronic components, today's connectors are increasingly characterized by lower profile thereof. In response to this lower profile request, contact gaps of contacts should be minimized. However, the contact with an extremely small contact gap would be difficult to blank under normal stamping conditions.
In addition, to allow the FPC being inserted into the contact gap with Zero-Insertion-Force, one of the beams, usually the upper beam, is deflectable by driving of an actuator so that when the actuator is opened for insertion of the FPC, the upper beam is opened up by a cam portion of the actuator for broadening the contact gap to receive the FPC, and when the actuator is closed, the normal force from the upper beam is applied to the FPC to make electrical contact. It is expected to ensure that the normal force applied to the FPC from the upper beam is high enough to achieve a reliable connection between the FPC and the contacts, especially after repeated opening and closing operation driven by the actuator.
Therefore, it is desired to have a contact in which the contact gap is minimized and the normal force applied to the FPC from the upper beam is high enough to ensure a reliable electrical connection.